Shadow Walking
by ccwgtb
Summary: Set season 5, just post 'Checkpoint'. Whilst searching for information about a sword that might be able to injure Glory, Xander finds a book full of drawings that are cold to the touch...
1. Shadow Walking Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer: Zelazny owns Amber and all characters from it. Mutant Enemy owns BtVS. I own nothing. I make no money from this.

Timeline: The story continues on from the very end of the season 5 episode 'Checkpoint'. There will be spoilers for season 5.

**Shadow Walking**

"She's not a demon." Travers explained. "She's a god." Travers took the stunned looks from the rest of the rooms as a signal to continue, "A hellgod to be precise." While the last statement sank in, Travers turned to his subordinates and sent them on their way, "Go on you two, I'll deal with this. I suspect that this will take a little while."

"A hellgod?" Buffy asked quietly, "Is that as bad as it sounds?"

Travers turned back to Buffy, "Yes and no. We don't know an awful lot about Glorificus, but what we do know gives us some small cause for hope." He gestured to the table, and everyone took seats. As they did, Travers opened a briefcase and produced a couple of very old looking books. "We are fairly certain that Glorificus originated somewhere other than the dimension she ruled, all of the reference material we have on her uses the title 'Glorificus, Exile of the Courts'." Travers paused when Giles looked up sharply at the statement, paling.

"Exile of the Courts?" He asked in astonishment, Travers nodded and was about to continue, but Buffy turned to her pale faced watcher.

"What am I missing that has you so worried Giles?" she asked "What does this 'exile of the courts' mean?"

Giles looked at his charge for a moment before removing his glasses and starting to wipe them as he spoke. "Occasionally in the histories, demons claiming to be 'of the Courts' have been mentioned, no slayer who has chosen to oppose one of these demons has ever survived the battle." Giles replaced his glasses and continued. "They had no common features beyond the fact that they were all stronger, faster, and tougher than a slayer, though this is probably because they all seem to be able to change their form at will."

Buffy finished his thought for him, "So if she's an exile of the courts, then she probably has all of these abilities. Great." She turned to Travers, "I thought you said there was 'some cause for hope', would you mind telling us what it is, because so far I don't see it."

"Patience." Travers said sternly, "I'll get to it, but it is necessary to explain the background first." Buffy looked like she might comment further, but instead stayed quiet allowing Travers to continue. "At some point after she was exiled, she came to world not unlike this one and used powerful magic to take over. She turned it into a hell dimension in short order."

"So why doesn't she just do the same here?" Buffy interrupted.

"Well firstly, her magic is mostly tied to her own realm, she doesn't have access to that level of power here." Travers answered, "And secondly, because according to the information we have been able to find on her, she was defeated and cast out of her realm by a man with a powerful magic sword made of silver with burning tracery laid into the blade. I was rather hoping that one of the books in Mr Giles' personal collection would have more information on the weapon." Giles was about to reply, but Xander beat him to it.

"Yeah, it's in one of Giles' books alright." He said. "I came across it one night when we were researching the mayor's ascension. It stuck in my mind because the blade was so beautiful."

"Can you remember anything else about it? Which book it was in maybe?" Giles asked.

"I can't tell you the name of the book, it was one of those that uses a different alphabet to ours, kinda flowing look to it. I flicked through it and the picture caught my eye, but I couldn't translate it so I moved on." Answered Xander. "It had a black leather cover if that helps?"

"Surprisingly enough, that narrows it down quite a bit." Said Giles, who was heading towards his private book collection. "I won't be a moment." He called.

While Giles was searching his book shelves, Buffy turned to Travers again. "If she's so powerful and all, what does she want here?" She asked.

"Well. As I understand it she believes that there is a 'key' of some kind in Sunnydale which would let her return to her own realm." Travers replied. "Apparently she can't heal from her injuries properly here and is quite weakened. That said, she is still very dangerous."

"So what's the problem with just finding this key for her and letting her go home?" Xander asked. "Seems to me like the easiest way to get rid of her."

While Buffy tried not to glare at Xander, Travers answered, "The problem is that there would be no way to close the portal once it opened, and eventually our world would be consumed by the hell dimension."

"Ah." Said Xander. "There goes my bright idea."

Just then Giles returned carrying a large black leather bound book. "I believe I've found the book you described Xander. He said.

"Yeah." Xander replied "That looks like the one. The picture was about a quarter of the way through." He moved over to where Giles had placed the book down, and started paging through it. The flowing text was very well preserved and interspersed with small illustrations in coloured inks. Xander kept turning the pages until, about a quarter of the way through the book, he came to a series of full page colour portraits, each with a page of text facing them. The pictures felt slightly cold to the touch as he paged through them. After a moment he stopped. "There." He said, pointing to a portrait of a man wearing black and silver and carrying a sword whose blade was inlayed with a pattern that the eyes couldn't quite follow. "There's your sword."

"Well." said Giles, examining the picture. "It would certainly seem to fit the description you gave us of the sword, Travers. Presumably the gentleman in the picture is the same individual who wielded it against Glorificus." Giles turned the book around and passed it to Travers to examine.

Taking the book, Travers carefully looked over the portrait before commenting. "Yes. The sword is almost certainly the one we need, and the man in the picture fits what vague desctriptions we have of the man who cast down Glorificus." He passed the book back to Giles. "You now know pretty much everything we know." Reaching into his briefcase he retrieved a folder, "Mr Giles, I understand you have copies of all the relevant books apart from the ones I brought with me. I'll leave those here. This folder contains all the information we could find about Glorificus and an index of where we found it." Travers pulled his coat on, and collected his now empty briefcase. "Now, if there is nothing more you want from me aside from Mr Giles' backpay, I'll get out of your way. I'm sure you have much to do." He said, before heading for the door.

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out!" called Buffy as the door was closing behind him. "Well, he couldn't wait to get out of here." She said.

"Can you blame him?" Asked Giles. "If we don't find this sword, there is a good chance that the world is going to end here soon, and on top of that you just threatened the man into giving in to your every demand. I rather suspect he had difficulty not breaking into a run." Giles paused and looked straight at Buffy before grinning widely. "Well done!"

Buffy grinned back. "Thanks!" She replied, before her face fell again. "I guess we need to get with the translating of the book then. We need to get our hands on that sword as soon as possible. Any idea what language it's in?" She asked.

"And do you have any idea why the pictures are cold to the touch?" Asked Xander from where he was sitting, looking through the book. Giles looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked.

"I mean, that the pages with this wierd writing on feel like normal paper, but the pictures feel cold, like glass or metal, but still papery." responded Xander. "Here." He said. "Try it yourself." He turned the book towards Giles.

Giles returned to the desk and ran his fingers gently across the page of text facing a beautiful picture of a fountain in a courtyard. As soon as his fingers moved onto the picure itself though, he pulled them back startled as he felt the cold feeling Xander had described. "How strange." He said, before beginning to check all the other pictures in the book.

"So far as I could tell, all the full page pictures feel cold." Xander said.

Giles finished checking the book and looked up. "Yes, you appear to be right. I wonder what is causing it." He said.

"At a guess, I'd say magic." Said Xander. "The artwork is amazing though, so real." He was staring at the picture of the courtyard with the fountain, fingers lightly brushing the surface. "It's almost like I'm really there..." He said, trailing off into silence.

Giles turned back to Xander just in time to see him disappear.

"Xander!" The cry rang out from all of the Scoobys, but there was nothing left where Xander had been except a book which now had a missing page.

Xander woke to find himself collapsed, face down in the gravel of a familar courtyard. His head was pounding with the worst headache he'd ever felt and he imagined that if this is what a hangover felt like, he could perhaps understand why his Dad would drink on the morning after to take the pain away. "Where am I, and what hit me?" He asked the air around him, when no answer was forthcoming he decided he'd better get up off the floor.

Slowly he stood up and looked around the courtyard. It was almost exactly as it had been drawn in the picture, which he realised was still in his hand. The difference being, in the picture it hadn't looked deserted. The courtyard was overgrown with ivy, or something like it, and the fountain was dry. The main doors into the castle were broken inwards, but the gate out of the courtyard appeared to have been walled up. Xander let out the deep breath he had taken. "Well." He said to no one, "This doesn't look good." He looked down at the picture in his hand and then back up shaking his head. "Just like all travel brochures. Looks great in the pictures, but when you get there it's falling apart and the plumbing doesn't work." he commented idly. "Well, there seems to be only one way to go, and there is no time like the present." His decision made, he started to walk towards the great, broken doors to the castle.

Xander found himself in a long hall with one door on the left near the entrance, two doors on the right, and a large set of double doors at the far end, all the doors were open a little. Xander gently pushed open the door on the left and found himself looking into a large room with a table in the middle of it. Chairs lay on the floor as if knocked over by people rushing to stand up. The walls to either side were adorned with what looked like weapon racks and on the far wall was a door which seemed to still be locked and bolted..

"This place is like the Mary Celeste." Xander's comment sounded very loud to him in the empty castle, and he winced as his headache objected to the noise. Shaking his head to clear it, he moved towards the locked door. Bolts ran from the door into the stone wall at the top and bottom of the door, and what looked like padlocks kept the bolts from being pulled back, there was also a keyhole in the door by the handle. "Somebody didn't want people getting through this door. I wonder what's in there that's so important?" Xander asked himself then it hit him and he looked up at the room. "Weapon racks on the walls, space for quite a few people to mill about and keep busy, right by the castle entrance. Gotta be a guardroom, which means the heavily locked door must be the armoury. Damn, I wish I had a key." Again his words echoed around the lifeless room. "Well, time to move on." He said and left the room the way he came in.

A little further down the long hall Xander came to the first door on the right, which on inspection appeared to be some sort of office. There was a desk with a chair behind it and what looked like a wooden filing cabinet was in each corner of the room behind the desk. Xander's eyes were drawn to something else entirely though. Hanging on the wall behind the desk was a pair of what Xander guessed were ceremonial swords. He reached up and lifted them off their mounts, placing them down on the desk. The swords resembled cavalry sabres and while rather ornate appeared to be combat quality weapons. Xander replaced one of the swords on the wall, and strapped the other to his belt. Whilst the castle felt empty, it was clear that something very bad had happened here, and Xander felt a little more secure knowing he had a weapon with him.

Leaving the office, Xander once again continued down the hallway towards the double doors at the end. The second door on the right appeared to lead to some sort of parlour, there didn't appear to be anything of interest except for a door on the far side. Deciding to leave that door for later, he finally reached the end of the hall. The doors were hanging loosely on their rusted hinges, and with a bit of effort opened to reveal a large, square atrium with a very high ceiling and three sets of stairs. One set led straight down into some basement area that Xander couldn't see, the other two started on opposite sides of the atrium, and led up clockwise in a large double helix, each staircase touching the balcony of each of the three floors above Xander on the next side round from the previous floor. Xander looked in awe as he realised that everything from the floor to the staircases to the balconys above were made from white marble.

"Wow." Breathed Xander. "This is incredible." He wandered into the room slightly dazed, before refocusing. "This is no time to get distracted by the decor." He said to himself. The far wall of the atrium was dominated by a huge set of ebony double doors which were easily twenty feet tall. Intricately carved into the doors were depictions of battles. Armies of creatures that looked like demons doing battle with armies comprised of humans and more creatures that looked like demons. "Wierd." Xander breathed as he studied the carvings, something about the scenes bugged him and it was more than just the concept of humans working with demons, He was well aware that that happened on occasion. He'd reached the third scene he'd studied when it hit him. Some of the demons on the human side were carrying assault rifles. "Damn." Xander said in shock. "Demons with guns. If that isn't a damn scary idea I don't know what is." He stared at the carving in mute shock for a moment longer before shaking himself out of it. "Let's see what's behind door number one." He said as he started pushing on the doors. The doors were heavy but the hinges appeared to be free of corrosion and they opened freely with a little effort.

"Well, it wouldn't be a castle without one I suppose." Xander commented as he cast his eyes over the large, white marble room, finally settling on the large, ornate throne which sat near the back of the room. There was a smaller throne to one side of it, and there were a number of chairs down each side of the room. Each of the chairs, including the throne were upholstered in different colours and several of the chairs were covered with black cloth, each with a different crest on. The throne was upholstered in orange, red and brown. Behind the throne and each of the chairs in the room were large portraits. Xander recognised them all from the book that had brought him here. "I wonder.." he said as he moved over to the painting of the man in black and silver. Xander gasped a little in surprise at the cold feeling of the portrait even though he was expecting it. "If the picture of the fountain brought me to the real thing, what will you do?" Xander asked the picture idly as he rested his fingers on the surface and stared in to the portrait. There was a noise like static and a feeling of great distance in his mind and then a voice.

"Who the hell are you?" The voice echoed in Xander's head and he staggered back from the painting in shock and pain, the voice in his head cutting off as soon as his fingers left the surface of the picture. Unfortunately the voice had increased Xander's headache to migraine level. He managed to reach the nearest chair before he passed out.

The first thing Xander realised as consciousness slowly crept up on him was that the chair he had collapsed into was rather comfortable. The second thing he realised was that his head still hurt. Thankfully it seemed to be easing off as he sat there. "Well, he sounded cheerful." He said as he massaged his temples, "Cheerful and loud." He finished as he opened his eyes again. "I think I'll explore a bit further before I try that again." He said. His headache had now receded to a dull thumping feeling behind his eyes. Uncomfortable, but bearable. The pain only swelled slightly as he stood back up before returning to it's background level. It was then that he heard it, a distant sound of movement coming from the direction of the atrium.

Xander rushed back to the atrium area, but there was no sign of anyone and no more sounds were to be heard. He stood, still and quiet for several minutes, straining to hear the slightest sound, but there was nothing. "This place must be getting to me." he said as he shook his head and started back to the throne room. "Now I'm hearing things." he said, then thought about the voice from the portrait and shook his head again, "Not that I wasn't hearing things before." he finished with a wry chuckle.

The sound came again just as he crossed the threshold into the throne room, Xander wheeled around and then paused, eyes searching the atrium for the source of the rapidly fading sound with no success. "Footsteps." he muttered under his breath. "Definitely footsteps." He started moving towards the stairs down to the basement. Though he still couldn't see whoever it was that was making the noise, it was definitely coming from the floor below.

Slowly, Xander walked down the stairs into the gloom below, silently wishing that he had brought a torch whilst listening out for the slightest echo of footsteps. The stairs went down about fifty steps before reaching a steel bound, wooden door. Xander listened at the door for a full minute, hearing nothing before attempting to open it. He slowly lifted the bar, which thankfully moved without a sound, before slowly easing the door open towards him enough to peer through the gap between the door and the frame.

Through the crack Xander could see a corridor crossing the doorway he was in, stretching for some way to both the left and right of him. Facing him on the other side of the corridor was a set of double doors. Lulled into a false sense of security by the quiet, Xander opened the door and the hinges let out a low, loud creaking sound. He winced and stopped moving the door instantly. "Shit!" he swore under his breath. As the faint echoes of the creaking died away though, Xander heard fast moving footsteps fading into the distance down the corridor to the left.

Giving up on trying to keep the door quiet, Xander opened the door fully with a final loud creak, stepped into the corridor and started down the corridor in the direction the noise had come from. He came to another door on his right after about fifty yards, but found it to be locked so moved on. It was as he was nearing a second door to the right, a further fifty yards on, that he realised that he could still see even though there was no obvious source of light in the corridor. Pausing by the door, he looked around carefully before realising that it was the stones in the ceiling that were giving off the soft orange glow that was illuminating the corridor. The glow was so faint, and the light level in the corridor so low, that had caused him to miss it in the first place. "Well," he muttered to himself, "at least I won't end up being lured off into total darkenss by the phantom footsteps. I feel much less like I'm in a bad horror movie now." He looked around again but there was still nothing in the passage but him and the door. "Standing around talking to yourself will not get you anywhere, Xander." He said to himself with a slight hint of false bravado. "You just have to find whoever is running around down here and get them to take you home." He tried the door with no success.  
"How hard could it be?" He asked in exasperation.

He was answered by the now familiar sound of distant running footsteps from further down the corridor, though they seemed closer this time. "Screw subtle." Xander growled under his breath, and took off down the corridor towards the sound. He ran quickly but quietly, trying to track the echoing footsteps that were slowly getting louder. He passed another two doors on his right, each another fifty yards apart, but the footsteps were definitely still coming from ahead of him. Then they abruptly stopped. Xander slowed down to a jog, still listening hard for any sound of movement. His distraction nearly cost him as the corridor ended at another steel bound door and he almost ran into it. After recovering from the shock of his near miss, he grasped the handle of the door. "You'd better not be locked." He said as he turned it, sighing slightly in relief as the door opened easily on silent hinges to reveal a spiral staircase which wound downwards out of sight. "Groovy." he deadpanned. "What I wouldn't give for a shotgun right now."

He started slowly down the staircase, wary now of what could be waiting ahead. After he had descended about twenty feet it seemed to be getting more difficult to see, but he dismissed it as his imagination. After another fifty feet, he could barely see the next step in front of him and was more feeling his way down than anything else. Another 5 steps down brought him to the end of the staircase, and in the darkness he could make out a very faint rectangular glowing outline of a door. After carefully feeling his way to the door, he once again paused to listen for any sounds from the other side. "Nothing." He sighed. "Not really sure if that's good or bad." He hesitated slightly, then turned the handle and opened the door to the most incredible sight he had ever seen.

The chamber was large, with a high ceiling and bare walls though neither had that faint orange glow Xander had become accustomed to in the passage above. Rather than the ceiling, the light came from the floor. Filling the middle of the chamber, a strangely familiar, intricate design had been inscribed in the floor with burning tracery. Xander slowly walked around it in a daze, unable to look away. "Beautiful..." He said, trailing off as he moved to examine it closer. As he did so, realisation hit him. "This is the pattern that was traced on the sword we're looking for." He said in awe. "Which means it's probably dangerous." He backed away from the design slightly, then stopped as he noticed something about it.

At first glance the tracery had looked like it was perhaps some kind of maze, but the closer Xander looked at it the more he realised that at no point did any of the lines cross. They looked like they did if he wasn't looking directly at that section of the design, but try as he might, he could find nowhere that the lines intersected. He looked at it from different angles, and crouched down at the edge to more closely examine the lines nearer the centre but could find nothing. He hung his head in confusion, inadvertantly looking straight down at the edge of the design he was crouched by. "Holy shit!" He exclamed softly, standing up and backing away slightly to get a better overview. "It's just one line." He looked back down to where he had found the end of a line at the edge of the Pattern. Yes, 'Pattern' seemed to be the right name for it, he thought absently. "From here to the centre. One line that never crosses it's self." He said, confused. "But it should do. The angles are all wrong." He tried to look away but couldn't. "It's like someone drove a light bike across the floor and never hit their own trail." He peered out towards the centre of the Pattern. "Except they did it on acid." He concluded quietly. The carpenter in him couldn't accept that the lines wouldn't cross and had an idea. "The only way to check for sure is to follow it from one end to the other." He said to himself, moving towards the edge where the line started. The rest of his mind was trying to tell him that this was a bad idea and that it was probably very dangerous to step on burning magical patterns. Those voices of reason were being shouted down however and Xander move closer to the start of the Pattern as if under a compulsion.

Finally, he put his right foot on the beginning of the line. Blue sparks started spitting from under his boot, and his mind cleared. He was halfway to putting his left foot down on the line in front of his right and couldn't believe what he was doing. He was about to step back off the Pattern when the voice from the painting in the throne room echoed in his head again, quieter this time.

"Keep walking." It said. "Don't step off the line and don't stop moving until you get to the middle. If you do, the Pattern will kill you."


	2. Shadow Walking Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer: Zelazny owns Amber and all characters from it. Mutant Enemy owns BtVS. I own nothing. I make no money from this.

**Shadow Walking**

"What the..." Xander exclaimed as he quickly finished putting his left foot down on the line in front of him and started walking forward. "Who are you?" He asked out loud, looking around to see if anyone was there.

"Keep a steady pace, and don't rush. Concentrate on the line." The voice spoke again. Xander quickly returned his gaze to the glowing line in front of him, and continued walking. The sparks were brighter now, nearly reaching his ankles. "My name is Corwin." The voice came again. "I believe we have business to discuss, but I'd rather do that face to face. When you get to the centre of the Pattern you will be able to use it to transport yourself to my current location." Here the voice paused. "First however, we must get you to the centre of the Pattern alive."

Xander was only half listening to the voice calling itself Corwin due to the fact that most of his attention was focused on the task of walking. A task that was becoming increasingly difficult with each step taken and each turn negotiated. He took a sharp left turn followed by a quick right and found himself on a short straight stretch as Corwin finished speaking. "Well I'm just overflowing with confidence right now." Xander muttered as the line began to curve gently to the right before almost doubling back on itself to the left.

Corwin's voice came again, "You will likely see things as you walk. Old memories and the like. Pay them no attention, the only thing that concerns you right now is the line in front of you, and making sure that you keep moving forward." Xander was beginning to feel a kind of pressure building up on him, his breathing was becoming laboured, and sweat was starting to sting his eyes. "Shortly you will be approaching the First Veil, which is the first of three obstacles for you to overcome. All you have to do to get through them is to keep moving, which is an awful lot more difficult than it sounds."

"No shit." Said Xander as he put his right foot down on the burning line. The sparks were flying above his ankles now, and they were beginning to obscure the line ahead.

"After the veil, the pressure you are feeling will ease off, and you'll find the going easier again." Corwin's words echoed around Xander's mind as he dragged his left foot off the ground. He felt like he was moving through treacle, but he managed to put his foot back down on the line in front of him, and as soon as he did so he felt memories surface in his mind.

Killing and devouring the school mascot... Attacking Buffy... Being locked in the book cage... Acting on instinct... Being part of a pack... Hunger... Lust... Rage...

Then Xander put his right foot down on the burning line in front of him. The pressure lifted from him and the feral feelings and instincts boiled away leaving only the memories. The relief he felt was palpable, but there had been something strange about the way he remembered things happening, something he couldn't put a finger on. He ran through the events in his head once more, and in his distracted state nearly tripped over his own feet as the pressure lifted and he could move forward freely again.

More through luck than judgement, Xander managed to regain his footing and pressed onwards through a series of tight turns, then the voice of Corwin returned. "One of the effects of walking the pattern is that the process completely removes any external influences on your mind. Any memories that have been altered will be restored, and any mental blocks will be removed, as will any implanted suggestions or triggers. For example: I suspect you will regain your memory of our earlier conversation around about the Second Veil."

It was around this point that Xander started feeling very cold. The sparks were up to his knees now and had turned a slightly more icy blue. The cold seeped in through his feet whenever they were in contact with the pattern, his joints stiffened and his legs felt like lead weights. Xander felt like he was walking into an arctic gale, the wind blowing at his face making his eyes tear up, but he managed to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

Three steps later, the tears in his eyes were obscuring Xander's vision enough that he wasn't sure where to put his foot down and he paused, albeit briefly to wipe his eyes.

Suddenly, he was back in the throne room, touching the portrait of the guy with the sword. He tried to move his hand off the painting, but it wouldn't budge. Then a familiar voice echoed thorough his mind.

"Who the hell are you?" Corwin's voice rang out.

Xander tried to answer that given Corwin had been talking in his head he should know who he is, but instead felt himself wince in pain at the loud voice and answer, "I'm Xander, I..."

"How did you get into the castle?" Corwin cut him off, and Xander felt himself reel from the power of the voice.

Swaying slightly, he heard himself answer in a shaky voice, "I don't know. One minute I'm looking at a picture in a book, and the next minute, 'Shazam!' I'm there. With a pounding headache. Speaking of which, could you keep the noise down? That way I might not pass out."

By this point, the light had dawned on Xander and he realised that the reason he couldn't do anything was that he was actually reliving the conversation Corwin had spoken of instead of just suddenly being able to remember it.

"Alright." Said Corwin, more quietly. "Describe this book to me. Everything you remember."

Xander remembered that at the time, he had felt like he was under intense scrutiny, but that was muted in the replay. He heard himself respond wearily, "Large, black leather bound, hand written in flowing script that I didn't recognise. There were small inked illustrations all the way through the book, but also a bunch of full page, colour pictures about a quarter the way in. The pictures felt cold to the touch. All of the portraits here were in the book, along with some pictures of places, like the courtyard where I arrived. Now can you tell me how the hell I ended up here, where here is, and who you are?"

"In a moment. I have one more question." Corwin replied. "Why were you looking at that book in the first place, idle curiosity?" He asked.

Xander felt himself hesitate briefly before sighing and answering the question. "We were researching your sword."

"Really." Said Corwin, sounding a little nonplussed. "Why?"

"A hell goddess named Glorificus wants to get back to her home dimension, but if she succeeds then there will be no way to close the portal and the world will be overrun by demons. Your sword is the only weapon we know of that can hurt her." Xander heard himself say.

Corwin paused for a moment. "Yes. That would make some sense. There are actually other weapons that can hurt her, but none of them are quite as well known as mine." He mused. "To answer your questions in reverse order, my name is Corwin, and you have managed to make your way to castle Amber. The pictures in the book you described are travel and communications devices called 'Trumps'. As you have found, if you touch one and concentrate on it you can travel to the location in the picture, or if it is a portrait you can contact the person drawn there. Normally they come as a deck of cards hence the name."

Suddenly, the portrait on the wall came to life, the background faded away and all that was left was a very real looking Corwin, wearing slightly different clothes, piercing Xander with his gaze. "Now then, let me get a proper look at you." Corwin said. Xander remembered being pinned by his stare, unable to move or reply. After a short while Corwin spoke again. "I'm not willing to part with my sword, and I can't go to where Glorificus is right now, but I will provide you with a way to dispose of her." Corwin grinned. "For a price. Now to do that we will have to meet face to face, and for various reasons I can't just pull you through the trump to where I am. You are going to have to go the hard way. I'll guide you, and in the process I'm going to teach you an important lesson about Trumps." At this point Corwin's face grew serious. "When you contact someone via Trump you directly link your mind with theirs, and if their mind is stronger than yours they will be able to manipulate it." Corwin's grin returned. "Like I am doing now. So let this be a lesson to you."

Corwin's stare intensified and Xander could remember the feeling of his memories being altered, and subtle commands being implanted. Then Corwin was gone and Xander remembered staggering over to a chair and passing out.

Only to wake up instantly to a biting cold wind in his face and one foot in the air, hesitantly descending towards where he thought the Pattern was. The shock nearly caused him to overbalance, but he quickly blinked enough tears away to be able to see the burning line, and put his foot down on it.

Instantly the wind was gone, and feeling started to return to his legs as the chilling effect of the Pattern vanished. Xander quickly wiped his eyes properly so he could follow the complex series of twists and turns that followed. Then Corwin's voice piped up again.

"After the Second Veil is the Grand Curve, It's easy going and you should use it to recover your stride before the Final Veil. When you get to the centre, think of being transported to where I am, and the Pattern will grant your wish. I'll talk to you again when you arrive." Then his voice was gone.

Xander was now just starting the Grand Curve at this point, and following Corwin's advice was using it to recover himself slightly. "Smug, superior, pain in the ass." He muttered under his breath. "He'd better come through with the goods or I will be very pissed." He paused. "And he'd kick my ass." He finished as he took another step along the curve.

There was a strange smell in the air. Something familiar to Xander though he couldn't quite place it. He took another step, and the association came to him. Cordite. Napalm. Blood. Memories of the Halloween Ethan Rayne caused merry hell returned to him, along with fleeting memories of Vietnam. However, with every step along the curve, the nightmare memories of the Soldier boiled away, leaving Xander with only the memories of what actually occurred that night and nothing more.

Once again, There was something out of place in his memories of Halloween, just like there was in his memories of being possessed by the Hyena, but he still could not put his finger on what it was. "Later." He said. "I can think about that after I get to the centre of this damned maze."

The Grand Curve ended and led into the most intricate set of corners and curves he had yet encountered on the Pattern, but the end was in sight. Though his quick glance ahead nearly caused him to miss a particularly nasty turn, he just about made it and continued on.

A short while later, the centre was only five steps away, but the familiar pressure was once again building. Four steps, and the sparks jumped above Xander's waist. Three steps, and it was once again like moving through treacle. Two steps, and his legs were shaking with fatigue just from making the attempt to move them, though he somehow succeeded. One step. He just wanted to collapse from exhaustion, both mental and physical. Body shaking like a leaf, his mind wandered back to the puzzle of his memories, and suddenly it hit him like a freight train.

Dawn was missing. She didn't exist in any of his memories from before the Dracula incident at all. It was like she appeared out of nowhere shortly afterwards. He wanted not to believe, but he was somehow certain that his memory was now correct.

The shock of the realisation nearly killed him as his legs began to give out. Panicked, he managed to stagger the final step, and fell to his knees at the centre of the Pattern, surrounded by burning tracery. His mind completely whole for the first time in years. His body exhausted. He half thought, half mumbled, "Take me to Corwin." and pitched forward onto his face unconscious.

Xander woke with a start as he was dumped into what felt like a large armchair. He opened his eyes slowly and was greeted with the sight of Corwin looking down at him. Xander instantly broke eye contact and reached for his sword, only to find it missing.

"Better." Corwin nodded as he moved over to the chair opposite Xander in what appeared to be a study of some kind. The walls were lined with book cases and there were no windows. A single door in one corner of the room was the only exit. There was a large table at the other end of the room, with several chairs around it, and books and scrolls scattered over it. "That sort of reaction might just keep you alive." He said as he sat down. "Of course it might instead annoy someone who was kind enough to offer you hospitality and a solution to your problems." He grinned, and gestured to the small table next to Xander's chair on which sat a brandy balloon, the sword Xander had picked up, and a small, mahogany case with a unicorn carved into it. "Have a drink." Corwin said. "You look like you need it."

Xander picked up the drink and took a sip. "Thanks." He said. "I made it then?"

"Yes." Said Corwin.

Xander put his drink back down on the table. "I'm not sure whether to thank you for the helpful running commentary, or to be pissed at you for putting me in that situation in the first place." He said.

"I can certainly understand that attitude." Corwin said. "However, it really was the only way to get you here, and the only safe way to get you out of the castle. That place is deserted for good reason." Corwin took a long sip of his brandy. "Had you stayed there much longer you would have been in real trouble." He finished.

"What from?" Xander asked.

"I'll get to that." Corwin said. "You're a very lucky young man, you know?"

Xander snorted. "Really? I sure as hell don't feel lucky." He said. "I grew up on a dimensional portal to Hell for a start."

Corwin raised an eyebrow. "Yes. You grew up in the safest place in the universe." He said, smiling.

"What?" Xander asked. "How does that rank as 'safe'?"

"Don't get me wrong." Corwin said. "For anyone but you, it's not very safe at all. But you were put there because the 'hellmouth' as you call it would prevent you from being found by anyone looking for you."

"Wait a minute." Xander interrupted. "Put there? What do you mean, put there?" He asked.

Corwin sighed. "I was hoping to find a better way to break this to you." He muttered, then continued more clearly. "So far as I can tell, your real father put you there so you would be safe from his enemies."

"Real father?" Xander repeated softly.

"Yes. I think the arrival of Glorificus has screwed up his plans though, and sadly he's no longer around to adjust them, so it's down to me to help you survive." Corwin said with a sad smile. "I knew he'd hidden you somewhere, but once we were forced to retreat here, I had no way of finding you."

"He's dead then?" Xander half stated, half asked.

"I'm afraid so." Corwin said and drained his glass. "For some time now." He paused, considering, then continued. "Your mother and father died in the attack that drove us out of Castle Amber."

"No offence, but why should I believe any of this?" Xander asked. "Do you have any proof?"

"Nothing concrete." Corwin replied. "I can show you pictures of your parents, but I doubt that would convince you."

"I think I'd like to see anyhow." Xander said, putting down his glass again.

"Very well." Corwin said. "Open the wooden box on the table."

Xander picked up the box and ran his fingers over the carving. "Beautiful workmanship." He said before opening the box.

"Thankyou." Corwin said as Xander flicked through the cards that were inside.

"These are all the people and places that were in the book I found." Xander said. "But I think these were drawn by someone else."

"Very perceptive." Corwin said, moving to stand behind Xander. "That is a complete family deck of the Royal House of Amber. Your family." He stood quietly, waiting for Xander's reaction.

Xander continued shuffling through the cards. "All of these people are my family?" Xander asked, not looking up.

"In one way or another, yes." Corwin answered. "That's your father there." Corwin said softly, pointing at the card Xander had just reached. It showed a smallish man with straw coloured hair dressed in a regal outfit of red, orange, and brown. He didn't look much like Xander, except for the smile. The smile was pure Xander. "The next card shows your mother." Xander shuffled the next card to the top and examined it closely. It depicted a slight, attractive woman with hair the colour of Xander's, dressed in red. Classically beautiful, she had eyes that seemed to be focused elsewhere.

"What were their names?" Xander asked.

"Your father was named Random, and your mother was named Vialle." He answered, then went to pour himself another drink. Neither man spoke as Xander continued to examine the cards. Furnished with a fresh drink, Corwin took his seat again. The sound caused Xander to look up.

"What relation am I to the others?" Xander asked.

"Most of them are your half-aunts and half-uncles. You already have a book detailing it all. All you have to do is translate it, you need to learn the language anyway, so consider it a challenge. Suffice to say that I am one of your many half-uncles." Corwin said, then his gaze became very stern. "Just because they are family though, doesn't mean you can trust them. Every single person in that deck has an agenda of their own, and will not hesitate to use you to further it." He said.

"Even you?" Xander asked with a slight grin.

Corwin returned the grin. "Yes. Even me. Like I said earlier, I've helped you out, and I'm going to offer to help you some more, but that help will come at a price. You'll owe me a favour, and sooner or later I will collect." He said seriously.

Xander's face turned serious. "If you have a way to save my friends. I'll pay the price." He stated with quiet conviction..

Corwin nodded to himself. "I thought you'd feel that way about it." He said resignedly. "That being the case, there are a couple of things I need to teach you before you leave. Not least of which is how to block a trump contact." He said.

Xander agreed. "Given your little 'lesson', I think that might not be a bad idea." He said. "What else is there? 'Cause I need to get back to Sunnydale as soon as possible."

Corwin looked him over, "Ideally I'd like to teach you how to use that sword properly, but I doubt you're willing to stick around long enough for that." He said, and Xander nodded. "That just leaves teaching you some basic tricks that walking the Pattern allows you to perform."

"What kind of tricks are we talking about here?" Xander asked.

Corwin mused a moment, and then spoke. "At it's most basic level, walking the Pattern allows one to manipulate reality." Corwin paused to let that sink in.

"Manipulate reality?" Xander asked, disbelieving. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly." Said Corwin. "Of course it's not quite as simple as it sounds."

"I can't imagine why." Xander said under his breath.

Corwin continued as if he hadn't heard. "Firstly, you'll be able to feel it any time someone alters reality near by. I can't describe the feeling, but you'll know it when it happens. Secondly, you will be able to feel where weaknesses in reality are, I suspect you'll easily be able to feel the hellmouth when you return."

"Great" Xander said. "Just what I need, the ability to sense the door to hell."

"You'll also be able to tell when someone's trying to open it. I don't doubt you'd like an early warning system." Corwin countered.

Xander reluctantly nodded his agreement. "Anything else?" He asked.

"Yes. You'll be able to alter probabilities. Nothing spectacular at first, but with practice you'll get better. For example, say you're wandering down the street on a hot summer's day and you want an ice cream. You could make it highly likely that round the next corner would be an ice cream vendor. Furthermore, just before you reach the vendor, you might decide that it would be extremely convenient to find the exact change you need for the ice cream on the sidewalk in front of you. Five minutes after deciding you want an ice cream you have one, and it cost you nothing." Corwin explained.

Xander's eyes widened at the implications of what Corwin was describing. "So, I'll be able to arrange any coincidence, as long as it's plausible?" He asked.

"To start with, yes." Corwin answered. "The better you get, the less plausible the event will have to be for you to make it happen."

"Wow." Said Xander, stunned. "That's quite some ability."

"I agree, though there are limits. You can't use it to make it more likely you'll hit someone with your sword, or a gun, for example. Combat moves to fast, and requires too much attention for that to work." Corwin said, as he went over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out two books. He handed them both to Xander.

Xander opened the first book to find it full of the same flowing script that had been in the book that had started this mess. "This more of my translation challenge?" He asked. "I tell ya, when I got sucked in by that trump, I sure as hell didn't expect to be going back with homework."

"This 'homework' is a book on how to use the abilities granted by the Pattern to a level beyond what I have just described. It also includes an explaination of just why walking the Pattern grants the abilities in the first place." Corwin said. "The second book is a translation dictionary I wrote for a friend of mine who only spoke English. It should make your homework easier." He said in a very slightly patronising tone of voice.

"Thanks. I think." Xander said, putting the books on the table with his sword and the deck of trumps.

Corwin sat down again. "Now the practical section of the homework." Corwin said. "Close your eyes and picture the Pattern in your mind."

Xander did as he was told, and almost immediately an image of the Pattern formed before his mind's eye. "Ok." He said. "Now what."

"Now, you walk the pattern in your mind. Follow it from start to finish, and when you get to the centre, open your eyes." Corwin said.

Xander sat in silence for a few minutes as he mentally traced the Pattern from beginning to end. It was much easier than walking the real one, and once he reached the centre he opened his eyes as instructed. "What the..." He trailed off as he looked around the room. Everything, especially Corwin and himself looked more intense, more real.

"Well done." Said Corwin. "That was quite good."

The sound of Corwin's voice broke Xander's concentration, and his vision went back to normal. "Huh?" He said intelligently, turning to face Corwin again.

"Practice that often. It allows you to see, rather than feel, the condition of reality around you, and in that state, it will be easier to alter probabilities. You will also have to practice holding the effect whilst distracted, and mentally walking the Pattern more quickly." Said Corwin, with faint amusement at Xander's confusion.

Xander quickly adjusted to his normal vision again and said. "That was intense. Do you do that all the time?"

"No, only when I need the extra focus." Corwin replied. "Once you've got the hang of it, I suggest you only use it when you need it too. It can get a bit overwhelming otherwise. One last thing. You can alter reality now. Never, and I mean never, take any kind of hallucinogen. The results can be very unpleasant." He finished.

"Yeah." Xander said. "I can kinda see that. One bad trip, and it's all over." He said.

"Exactly." Agreed Corwin, as he pulled out a card from his own deck. "So be careful. Anyway, I was going to show you how to block a trump call." He held up the card, which had a quick but accurate sketch of Xander on it. "I'm going to trump you." Corwin said. "You'll feel a buzzing in your head, and all you have to do is ignore it." He then held the card up in front of him, and stared at it.

Xander felt a faint buzzing in his head, just as Corwin had described. Ignoring it was relatively easy, all he needed was something else to think about, and right now he had plenty to distract him.

After a couple minutes, the buzzing stopped. "See?" Corwin asked. "I told you it was straight forward.

"After everything else, it was a bit of an anticlimax." Xander said.

Corwin chuckled briefly. "If I ever need to contact you, I will buzz you for twenty seconds, then wait one minute and repeat the buzz for another ten seconds, after another minute, I will call again. Answer the third call." he said. "If for any reason you need to contact me, you'll have to use the same process."

Xander nodded. "That makes sense." He said. "Thanks."

"No problem." Said Corwin. "It is however, time for you to go." He stood up, as did Xander, and pulled a small vial of viscous, murky-green liquid from his pocket. "This is a poison that will kill Glorificus. It will act fast, but you'll have to get it into her blood stream." He said.

Xander's eyebrow raised as he took the vial an examined it. "How am I supposed to manage that?" He asked.

"I would suggest you don't manage it at all." Corwin answered. "I'd suggest you coat that sword of yours with the venom and let your friend the Slayer go to town on Glorificus. Incidentally, there isn't much that sword won't cut these days, so be careful with it." He said.

"Right. I'll bear that in mind." Said Xander as he pocketed the vial and the deck of trumps. "So how do I get home?" he asked.

Corwin smiled and produced another card, apparently from nowhere, on which was a sketch of the back room of the Magic Box. He handed it to Xander. "That should get you where you need to go." He said.

"Thanks." Said Xander, belting on his sword. "I guess I owe you a pretty big favour."

Corwin grinned a somewhat wolfish grin. "You're catching on quickly Nephew." He said. "It has been a pleasure to meet you." Corwin stuck his hand out, and Xander shook it.

"And you Uncle." He replied, then picked up his books, looked down at the card, and vanished.

Corwin looked at where Xander had been standing. "Here's hoping you survive." He said, and drained his glass.


	3. Shadow Walking Chapter 3

Standard disclaimer: Zelazny owns Amber and all characters from it. Mutant Enemy owns BtVS. I own nothing. I make no money from this.

**Shadow Walking**

As Xander stared at the card, colour bled into the sketch of the back room of the Magic Box, and after a moment or two, he found himself standing there for real.

"Giles! What just happened? Where did Xander go? How do we get him back" Xander heard Buffy's voice from the front of the shop rising, tinged with fear, and realised he'd best show them he was okay. He put the card in the box with the rest of his trumps and slipped the box into his pocket.

"I'm not sure, Buffy." He heard Giles say, in a strained voice. "But I suspect it has to do with this book." He didn't have time to say anything more, as Xander chose that moment to walk in from the back room.

Xander surveyed the scene. Giles was bent down, picking the book up from where it had fallen. Buffy was next to him looking angry and scared. Tara was holding Willow, who was just staring in horror at the space Xander had vacated moments before, and Anya's knuckles were white from gripping the cash register to hold herself up. Xander plastered a grin on his face.  
"Hi." He said. Everyone turned to look at him in shock. "I come bearing gifts."

"Xander!" Buffy and Willow and Anya exclaimed in unison, Buffy and Willow in joy, and Anya in relief. Seconds later he was being hugged to death by all three, who then took turns explaining to him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't to scare them like that by disappearing right in front of them ever again or he'd be in real trouble.

Having finished reprimanding him, Anya grabbed Xander and began to kiss him, then suddenly stopped, eyes narrowing. "Why do you taste of expensive brandy?" She asked. Xander was about to answer, but Anya cut him off. "Were you off having fun? While we were here worried sick about you?" She continued, her voice rising as she prodded him on the chest for emphasis.

Giles took a moment to clean his glasses, "I hate to interrupt." He said mildly, if unconvincingly. Anya paused in her tirade to glare at Giles, who ignored her and focused instead on Xander. "Xander, you mentioned something about gifts, and frankly you look like you've been through something of an ordeal. Just how long have you been gone?"

Xander felt a little uncomfortable under Giles' scrutiny, "A few hours I think." He said with a shrug, not really understanding why Giles was asking. "Give or take periods of unconsciousness. I got back as fast as I could." He said, in an attempt to calm Anya, who looked like she was about to continue where she left off.

"Xander." Giles started, looking concerned. "From our perspective, you appeared from the back room only seconds after disappearing from in here." Xander was stunned. "I think perhaps, you should tell us all what happened from your perspective." Giles finished.

"Yeah." Said Anya, who was now smouldering quietly to herself. "Let's hear about how you scared me half to death to go drinking."

Xander followed Giles' example and ignored her, not wanting to start an argument. He put his books down on the table, unfastened his sword, and sat down heavily. "Before I start on the details." He said, pulling the vial of poison from his pocket and setting it down on the table. "I've got a way to kill Glory." He smiled, tiredly, at the shocked expressions that everyone directed at him.

Giles was the first to recover. "Are you certain?" He asked.

"I'm as sure as I can be Giles." Xander responded, then held up the vial. "I'm told this is a fast acting poison, that is guaranteed to kill her" He handed the vial to Giles to examine. "Just don't drop it, G-Man. I can't get any more." He said with a grin.

Giles' face showed brief exasperation, but he refused to rise to the bait. "Presumably you also have a method of delivery?" He asked politely.

"Yeah. Apparently my sword will cut her." Xander said, tossing the sabre to Buffy, who caught it easily. "Coat the blade with the poison, and all you have to do is land a blow, Buff."

Buffy drew the blade and tried a few practice swings. "Nice." She said, appreciatively. "Good balance."

"Hey, I want that back, once your done." Xander said jokingly to her as she resheathed the sword and handed it back to him.

"Sure, but can I borrow it when you're not using it?" she asked, smiling.

Xander nodded and put the sword back on the table. Giles took the opportunity to interject. "Xander, as wonderful as it is to potentially have a way to kill Glory, you still have yet to explain where you have been, what you have been doing, and most importantly, who gave you these gifts and why." He said.

Xander sighed and slumped in his seat. "Yeah. I suppose you're right." He said. He reached over and took the book that had started the whole mess from the table where Giles had put it down, and paged through it. He then placed it back on the table facing Giles. "I was given them by him." He stated. The book was open to the page showing the trump of Corwin.

"Good Lord." Giles softly exclaimed, staring at the book in surprise. "How did you find him?" Giles asked, then looked back at Xander. "For that matter, who is he? All we know about him is that he cast down Glorificus." He finished.

Xander smirked at Giles. "I found him by accident of course." He said.

He was rewarded by an exasperated look from Giles. "Of course." He said flatly, taking his glasses off to gesture with. "I should have guessed. Would you care to elaborate? I'd rather not have to put 'world saved by happy coincidence' in my first offical report following my reinstatement."

Xander continued to smirk back at Giles, but decided to give him a break. "I suppose I'd best start at the beginning." He said, and began to explain what had happened to him since he disappeared, though he ommitted the fact that Corwin had messed with his mind, and instead said that he had just told him the route to the Pattern chamber. He described his experience of walking the Pattern, but left out Corwin's commentary and his revelation about Dawn. He then told them of his face to face meeting with Corwin, but neglected to mention anything about the new abilities Corwin claimed he would have, or about how Corwin claimed he was family. He did however explain to Anya that he had been given the brandy by Corwin to settle his nerves and that he had not been having fun, which seemed to satisfy her.

"So he gave you all of this in exchange for a favour at a later date." Giles asked, unconvinced.

"Actually, he just gave me the poison in exchange for a favour at a later date. The books are my homework." Xander replied, distastefully.

Giles succeeded in hiding his amusement, "Homework?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah. Don't ask." Xander said, flatly as Willow and Buffy tried to stifle their giggles.

"Only you could get teleported to a deserted castle and be unlucky enough to come back with homework Xander." Buffy said, still smiling. Xander glared at her briefly, but only managed to start the two girls giggling again.

"Very well. I shall leave it for now." Giles said to Xander, ignoring the girls. "Though I do want to know what kind of favour you have agreed to do for this Corwin." He continued.

"He didn't say what the favour would be Giles." Xander said, tiredly. "And frankly I didn't care. He offered me a way for Buffy to defeat Glory. I said yes. End of story."

"I see." Giles said, with a slightly disapproving tone. "Whilst I think you should perhaps have inquired a little more deeply as to what would be required of you, I can't deny that I am somewhat relieved at the outcome." He smiled slightly at Xander. "You look like you need some rest." He said.

Xander nodded. "Yeah." He agreed. "Some sleep would be good."

Giles stood up. "I'll give you a lift home, and you can fill us in on the rest of the details tomorrow, after I've shut up the shop." He said.

Xander started gathering his belongings, but handed the sword and the poison to Buffy. "You keep hold of these." He said. "You've already had to face Glory a couple of times, with any luck you'll only have to do it once more."

"Thanks." Said Buffy seriously, then she smiled. "And don't worry, I'll take good care of it."

Xander smiled back and then turned to Anya who was still glowering at him slightly. "I'm sorry I scared you." He said, sincerely.

"So you should be." She said. Then her frown melted and she kissed him lingeringly. "Just don't do it again." She said when she had finished. "Now go home and get some rest, I have to finish up here. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Yes Ma'am." Xander replied with a tired smile, then looked around at everyone else. "I'll see you all tomorrow." Then to Giles. "You ready?"

Giles nodded. "Of course." He said, and headed for the door with Xander following. "I'll leave you to lock up, Anya." He said over his shoulder. "See you all tomorrow."

Anya nodded, and there was a chorus of goodbyes from the girls as the door closed behind them.

Giles led Xander to his car in silence, and unlocked it. Once they were both seated, Giles started the car, and as Giles pulled off, Xander broke the silence. "Giles, I left something out when I told you all what happened. Something important." He said in a subdued voice.

Giles briefly glanced at Xander, who looked very worried, before returning his eyes to the road ahead. "Why? Whatever it is, it's obviously bothering you. Why not tell us all?" He asked.

Xander looked uncomfortably at his reflection in the window. "I didn't want to bring it up in front of Buffy, I don't think she would have taken it well." He said.

Giles' face turned very concerned. "Why do you think that?" he asked very seriously, still looking at the road.

"Corwin told me that walking the Pattern removes any outside influence on your mind." Xander said. "That any altered or missing memories would be restored."

"I take it you found your mind had been tampered with in some way?" Giles asked.

Xander turned to look at Giles. "I think all our minds have been tampered with, Giles." He said seriously. "Because I've tried as hard as I can, and I can't find any memories of Dawn older than about six months. Which is why I'm talking about this with you and not Buffy, I doubt she'd take it well." He finished.

Giles pulled up outside of Xander's apartment, and turned to face him. "She would take it better than you might expect, Xander." He said. "She found out for herself a couple of weeks ago what Dawn is and told me about it."

Xander looked confused and relieved all at once. "Well I'm glad I'm not going any more nuts than I already was, but what is she and why haven't you told us about this if you've known for weeks?" He asked.

"To all intents and purposes, she's Buffy's sister." Giles said. "However before that, she was the Key that Glory is looking for to open the way to her home realm."

Xander looked even more confused. "How did she go from one to the other." He queried.

"The Key was a kind of energy that was hidden in a monastary and protected by monks. Glory found out where it was, and to prevent her getting her hands on it, the monks cast a spell that changed the energy into a human girl. The spell also created false memories for everyone around this new young lady. Needless to say, these monks felt that the Key could best be protected by the Slayer, so they made her Buffy's sister, someone she would protect with her life." Giles explained. "Xander, Dawn knows none of this. She believes that she is nothing more than Buffy's little sister. Buffy and I both felt that it would be best that she not learn otherwise unless absolutely necessary. I trust you to abide by that decision." He finished.

Xander listened to the explaination with growing shock and then understanding. "Sure." He said, when Giles had finished. "It's not her fault, and there is no point in scaring her to death right now unless we have to. But after this is over, she's going to have to be told, Giles. I mean Glory can't be the only one looking for the Key, and she'll be safer if she knows she might be a target. That, and I'd hate for her to find out on her own and not have us there to support her." Xander's voice was deeply concerned.

Giles nodded in resignation. "I have to agree with you, but persuading Buffy will be difficult." He said. "She wants Dawn to have as normal a life as possible."

Xander only nodded, deep in thought.

Giles broke him from his reverie. "Those are worries for tomorrow though Xander." He said, smiling. "Go and get some rest."

Xander chuckled, and smiled back. "Good idea." He said. "And thanks for telling me."

"That's quite alright." Giles said, as Xander climbed out of the car. "The only reason we didn't tell everyone straight away was that we didn't want anyone to treat Dawn differently."

"I understand, Giles. I'd have done the same thing. You get some rest too." He said, then shut the car door and headed for his apartment.

As he approached the door to his apartment, he heard the faint sound of his phone ringing inside. "Damn it." He said under his breath, as he juggled the three books and his keys to open the door. He rushed inside, dropping the books on the table by the phone. Caller ID showed the number for the Magic Box, so Xander picked up with a smile. "Hi Honey." He said, expecting to hear Anya's voice.

Instead, Buffy's voice came over the line. "Xander?" She said, nearly in tears. "You need to get back here."

A powerful feeling of dread settled over Xander as he heard Buffy's shaky voice over the line. "What's happened Buffy?" He asked, his voice catching in his throat. "Is everyone okay?" But even as he asked the question, he realised that was not the case. "Anya." He breathed. It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm sorry, Xander." Buffy said hoarsely. "It happened too fast, I couldn't protect her. I'm so sorry." She finished, sobbing quietly.

Xander felt numb, the dread replaced by an overwhelming feeling of emptyness. "I'm on my way." He said, his voice hollow. He put the phone down without listening for a response, and made his way out of the apartment.

The sound of the door closing behind him seemed to have a finality to it that brought tears to Xander's eyes. He blinked them away and started towards the Magic Box as quickly as possible, fervently hoping that he wouldn't encounter any vampires on the way.

A few minutes later he reached the Magic Box. He tried the door, but it had been locked from the inside, so he rapped on the door while calling out, softly. "Open up, it's me."

The door was opened near instantly by a harried looking Tara, there were faint traces of tear tracks on her cheeks and the red stained tissue she was using to wipe her nose with suggested that it had been bleeding. She said nothing as she stepped back to let him in.

Xander was ill prepared for the scene that greeted him. Though he knew Anya was dead, it wasn't until the moment he saw her lying on the wooden floor, her head twisted at an unnatural angle, that it became real to him.  
He slowly walked over to her body, his eyes never leaving her face. He kneeled down, reached out and gently stroked her face.

"How?" Xander managed to choke out, not able to look away from Anya's face. Buffy's voice answered from just behind him, making him jump slightly.

"After you and Giles left, we got ready to go home too." Her voice was quiet and slightly unsteady. "Anya opened the door so we could leave, and Glory was just waiting there on the other side of the door. Smiling." The last word was almost snarled, and Buffy suppressed a sob before continuing more quietly. "Glory just knocked her out of the way like she was nothing, then she looked me in the eye, grinned, and said, 'Oops, I think I broke her.' then she attacked.

Xander heard Buffy begin to pace behind him.

"I was so mad!" she growled. "I remembered I was holding the poison when the vial broke in my hand. I think Willow and Tara did something which distracted her long enough for me to draw your sword and coat the blade, because when I looked up they were on the floor, and Glory was charging me."

The sounds of Buffy's pacing stopped and Xander heard her take a few calming breaths.

"She obviously didn't think the sword could hurt her, she looked so surprised as the blade went through her hand when she tried to catch it. Then she screamed, and just sort of, melted away." Xander felt Buffy's hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She choked out. "I wasn't fast enough."

Xander tore his eyes away from Anya's corpse and looked up into Buffy's tear filled eyes. He reached up and put his hand over hers and said, softly. "I don't blame you Buffy. I blame Glory." The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a key opening the door to the shop. Everyone tensed for a moment, then relaxed as the door opened to admit a very worried looking Giles.

"Good Lord." He breathed, upon seeing Xander kneeling by Anya's broken body. His eyes darted quickly to Buffy. "Glory?" He asked. She pointed to a puddle of viscous greenish liquid on the floor, Xander's sabre lay discarded a few feet away from it. Giles' face hardened for a moment as he looked at the remains of Glory and nodded in satisfaction. "Willow? Tara?" The two women looked up when Giles spoke to them. Tara was pale and shaking slightly, though her nosebleed had definitely stopped. Willow was holding her and looking worried. "I need you to clean this mess up and put the sword somewhere safe and out of sight."

"O-Ok." Tara replied. She almost seemed glad to have something to do to take her mind off things. Willow shot Giles a grateful glance as she followed behind Tara.

Giles moved to join Xander and Buffy. "Xander?" He asked.

"Yeah." Xander replied, flatly. Still staring at Anya's corpse. He stood up stiffly and turned to face Giles. "We're going to have to call the cops aren't we?" He asked.

Giles nodded. "The authorities are going to have to be informed, yes." He said.

Buffy looked at them in near shock. "What! Why?" She asked. "They've never caused us anything but trouble."

Willow and Tara returned with a mop and bucket. Tara was startled by Buffy's outburst and nearly dropped the bucket full of water she was holding. Buffy didn't notice, and Willow quickly brought Tara's attention back to the task at hand.

Xander turned to look at Buffy, his face a cracked mask of calm. "Because they don't let you have a funeral without a death certificate Buff, and she deserves a proper funeral." He said, then his face cracked into a grin that wasn't quite right, and he turned back to look at Anya's face. "Besides, if we don't do things officially then her will won't get read, and she'd never forgive us for that." He reached out and touched Anya's cheek again. "Would you?" He softly asked the corpse.

The wind taken out of her sails, Buffy looked down at her feet while digesting Xander's words. She put her hand gently on Xander's shoulder, and he looked up to see her bitter smile. "You're right, Xand." She said. "On both counts."

"Thanks, Buff." Xander said softly, giving the hand on his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Buffy turned to Giles, unable to hold Xander's gaze for long and in need of something to do to keep herself from breaking down. "You have a plan for how we do this Giles?" She asked hopefully.

"I would suggest something close to the truth." Giles replied wearily.

Xander tried to listen to the fabrication Giles and Buffy were concocting between them, but his concentration was wandering and nausia was slowly creeping up on him as the reality of the situation finally set in. Hearing Buffy dial 911 and call for an ambulance was the final straw and he got up and staggered to the small restroom at the back of the shop before throwing up.

Willow and Tara had just finished clearing up the remains of Glory when Xander made his dash for the back of the shop. Willow saw Giles getting ready to follow the young man and shook her head at him before handing her mop to Tara. She was about to explain to her lover that she was going to go and look after Xander, but Tara smiled slightly, put her finger over Willow's lips and whispered, "Go." Willow smiled gratefully and took off after Xander.

Willow found Xander collapsed against the wall of the restroom, facing way from the door, clearly trying to recompose himself. He flinched slightly when she sat down on the floor behind him and wrapped her arms around him like she had when they were both still kids and he'd run from his parent's drunken ire. Safe in the arms of his oldest friend Xander finally wept.


	4. Shadow Walking Chapter 4

Standard disclaimer: Zelazny owns Amber and all characters from it. Mutant Enemy owns BtVS. I own nothing. I make no money from this.

**Shadow Walking**

Xander was woken by the sunlight streaming in through curtains that had not been closed properly and sleepily sat up and tried to work out why he was in the guest room at the Summers' residence. As sleep faded however, the memories of the previous night reasserted themselves.

Giles and Buffy had shielded Xander from the paramedics and the police, and Willow had held onto Xander's hand while he provided monosyllabic answers to an almost sympathetic member of the Sunnydale PD. Anya's body was taken away by the medical examiner and Giles took everyone else back to Mrs Summers' house, where Joyce immediately told Xander in no uncertain terms that he would be staying in her guest room for the night, Xander had tried weakly to protest but acquiesced when Joyce gently suggested that he might not want to wake up alone in the bed he'd shared with Anya.

Xander screwed his eyes shut against the dual onslaught of sunshine and memories but neither showed any sign of receeding. It all seemed so terribly unreal.

Anya was dead.

Xander's mind shied away from that thought and he sought distraction in the routine preparations for the day ahead.

Showered, he dressed in the clothes he had been wearing the day before, which appeared to have somehow laundered themselves while he slept. Another thing to thank Joyce for.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by the muffled voice of Buffy. "Hey, Xander. You want breakfast?"

Xander's stomach churned at the thought of food but he knew he needed to eat something. "Sure Buff." He said, softly, as he opened the door. "Just some cereal though, I don't think I could manage anything else right now."

Buffy gave him a small smile. "I'm pretty sure Mom can find some cereal for you." She said. "I should warn you though, Mom's been cooking breakfast with your normal appetite in mind."

Buffy led the way into the kitchen and as the door opened Xander was struck by the aroma of freshly made breakfast.

Joyce looked up as the pair came in. "Good timing. Xander, help yourself to whatever you want." She said indicating the table stacked with just about every breakfast food he could imagine. "Dawn will be up soon so dig in or there's a good chance there won't be anything left."

"Hey! That's so unfair!" Dawn's outraged voice came from the doorway as Xander was pouring cereal into his bowl. "Buffy eats way more than me." She complained as she slumped into a seat at the table and snatched some pancakes.

"Buffy is the Slayer and needs to keep her strength up." Joyce calmly replied before Buffy could respond to her sister's goading. "We're expecting Willow, Tara and Rupert to be joining us too so try to leave some food for them."

Xander watched the byplay as Dawn and Buffy continued to bicker with vague amusement as he ate his cereal. The normality of it all was both reassuring and unsettling at the same time.

Buffy and Dawn had finally settled down to eat and Xander had managed half his bowl of cereal when Giles and the two witches arrived. Willow and Tara joined them at the table, one on each side of Xander, while Giles sat by Joyce.

The conversation around the table had a forced lightness to it, the events of the previous night avoided as a topic by unspoken consent. Xander let the conversation carry on around him without participating, he ate his cereal and found his appetite returning as he realised that he'd not eaten since lunchtime the previous day. He helped himself to a couple of pancakes and let his mind wander as he ate them.

He was mulling over the conversation he'd had with Corwin the previous day when he came to the sudden realisation that he'd been told that Random had placed him in Sunnydale to hide him from Random's enemies, but Corwin had never told him who those enemies were or how to identify them.

The surprised realisation must have shown on his face because everyone was suddenly looking at him.

"Are you alright Xander?" Giles asked, gently.

"Yeah. I just realised I have to sort out the funeral arrangements." Xander replied, covering for himself.

"Of course." Giles said, nodding in sympathy. "If there is any way any of us can be of assistance to you, then please let us know." He finished. All the others round the table were nodding in agreement with him.

"Thanks guys." Xander replied softly. "That means a lot to me." He gave them a small smile and went back to finishing the last of his pancakes.

Xander was finishing his last mouthful of food when the comforting atmosphere was broken by the ringing of the doorbell, startling everyone. Joyce quickly laid down her cutlery and rose to answer the door. The sounds of a short conversation could be heard before Joyce returned to the kitchen and spoke to Xander softly.

"Xander, there's lawyer here to see you. Apparently it's about Anya's Will. I've left him in the living room for the moment." She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Xander steeled himself and nodded. "Then I'd best go and see him." He stood up and turned to Giles. "Can I take you up on that offer of help? I don't really want to deal with this guy on my own." He asked.

"Of course, Xander." Giles replied as he too, rose from the table. "I'd have it no other way."

Xander stopped at the door to the living room and took a breath, his hand hovering above the door handle. Giles laid a hand on Xander's shoulder in support and Xander opened the door and walked in.

They were greeted by an earnest looking man in his late twenties wearing a charcoal grey suit that he looked slightly uncomfortable in. He stood as they entered the room and adjusted his glasses, which had thick black rims and looked slightly too large for his thin face, though they were amply supported by a rather roman nose.

"Good morning." He said as he offered his hand to Xander in greeting. "I'm Gerald Perivel." Xander shook his hand firmly and Gerald winced very slightly under the pressure. "I'm very sorry for your loss." He said, with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Thank you." Xander said. Flatly. "Now, I was told this is about Anya's will, but first I'd like to know how you found me here?" Xander asked, suspicion in his eyes.

"Ah, yes." Gerald almost stuttered. "Nothing nefarious I assure you. When I contacted the local police department and informed them of the nature of the business I had with you, they were happy to pass on that you'd informed them you were staying here overnight." He said quickly. "I apologise for prying, but I've been directed by my superiors to be as diligent as possible with regards to the matter at hand."

Xander nodded slowly, his suspicions growing. "Ok." He said. "Who are these 'superiors' and why does Anya's Will concern them so much?" He asked.

Gerald went a little pale and looked even more nervous than he had previously. "W-well, you see, Miss Jenkins had been a valued client of our firm for a very long time and given the potential for misunderstandings given who you are and who we are I was directed to smooth over any potential issues personally".

"Client for a very long time?" Xander repeated, somewhat confused "Potential for misunderstandings?" he went on carefully, then he dropped his face into his hands as realisation dawned and began to massage his temples. "So. Anya had her Will with Wolfram and Hart then." He said, resignedly. "I should have expected this really." He said, aside to Giles. "I knew she'd had dealings with them before we met and she's never been good with change. Who else would she have her Will with?"

Giles nodded in understanding, then turned to Gerald. "She was a valued client, you say?" He asked, as Xander went back to massaging his temples.

"Oh yes!" Gerald replied, nodding enthusiastically. "My superiors were very concerned that you might decline to come to a reading of the Will based on the nature of our business and the, ah, 'issues' your associates in LA have had with us in the past. We at Wolfram and Hart take our contractual obligations very seriously though, so I've been sent to try and smooth the way." He said, with a slightly haunted look in his eyes.

"I see." Giles said, looking over in concern at Xander, who still didn't appear to be paying any attention. He was just about to begin speaking again to fill the uncomfortable silence when Xander spoke.

"Gerald, everyone here knows that Wolfram and Hart is evil." He said tiredly. Gerald flinched slightly at that comment. "But if Anya chose to use your firm as executor then we'll just have to deal with that. Is this something we can get done here or do we need anyone else present?" He asked.

Relief was apparent on Gerald's face as he reached for his briefcase and pulled out a sealed envelope. "The Will is very straightforward." He said, speaking rapidly again as he handed Xander the envelope. "There will be no formal reading. We were instructed by Miss Jenkins to provide you, Mr Harris with a copy of the Will and that accompanying letter for you to read in private." Gerald snapped his briefcase shut and began to stand as he continued. "Once you've read through them, please give me a call and we can finalise everything. I'll be staying in town until you are ready to proceed." He pulled a card from his pocket and after looking at Xander, who was just staring at the envelopes, handed it to Giles. "I'll be available twenty-four hours a day." He said quietly to Giles who nodded and pocketed the card. Gerald then he turned back to Xander. "I'll be taking my leave now. I'd like to once again express my most sincere condolences on your loss." Xander nodded slightly in response and Gerald picked up his briefcase as Giles showed him out.

Xander looked up from the still unopened envelopes when Giles returned with Joyce. "Hey." He said, softly. "Who knew that Evil Incorporated had people who could act like real human beings, with feelings and everything?" Smiling slightly bitterly he stood and faced Giles and Joyce. "Mrs S, Giles, thanks again for everything, but I think I'm going to go home and read these alone."

Joyce pulled him into a brief, but fierce hug. "You call later, young man, to let us know you're alright." She said, sternly as she let him go.

"I'll make sure Joyce knows where to find me if I'm not here Xander." Giles said. "You take what time you need. Do you want a lift home?" He inquired.

"Thanks for the offer G-Man, but I'm going to take advantage of the daylight to take a walk in the fresh air. Might do me some good." Xander replied. "Tell the girls thanks again and that I'll be back round later today."

Giles nodded and watched as Xander stepped out through the front door and into the blazing California sunshine.

* * *

As Xander walked, he tried to distract himself from the documents he carried with him by contemplating the first life changing event of the previous day. Remembering his talk with Corwin, he decided that it couldn't hurt to try some of what he'd been told about. So as he walked along the street, he also pictured walking the Pattern in his mind. It took him several attempts as various sounds and sights distracted him, but after about ten minutes of walking, he held the mental image of the Pattern in front of his eyes.

Things looked the same, but different. Colours slightly flatter, the sun slightly paler and in the distance in the direction of the old school, he could feel something was not right. He shuddered and looked away. "Not dealing with that today." He said to himself.

Holding the image of the Pattern was becoming easier the longer he did it for, but he knew that if he let it go it would probably take him another ten minutes of walking to get it back. With that in mind he concentrated on the task at hand and began to think about what he could possibly try to affect the probability of.

The first thing that came to mind seemed rather silly at first, but would certainly do as a test. So Xander began concentrating on the idea that round the next corner he turned would be a friendly black cat waiting for him.

He was concentrating so hard that when he turned the corner, he tripped and fell as a black cat wound itself around his legs.

As he lay slightly dazed on the floor, the cat padded up to him and immediately started gently headbutting his face while purring loudly. Instinctively, Xander reached up and began to scratch it behind the ears. The purring grew louder as the cat stopped headbutting him in favour of leaning into the hand which was providing the ear scratches.

"Well." Xander said to the cat. "I guess that worked."

The cat attempted to meow, as if in response to the statement, but was too busy purring so it sounded more like a strange chirruping noise than anything else.

Xander picked himself up off the floor and gently pulled the envelopes out from under the cat who had sat down on them when Xander had stopped petting it. The cat looked unimpressed at Xander stealing its seat but got up and began to wind round his ankles again, purring slightly.

Xander leaned down and scratched it behind the ear once more. "Goodbye little fella." He said, before he straightened and continued his journey home. The cat trotted along a few yards behind him, unnoticed.

He was only a couple of minutes from his apartment and decided to go straight there, rather than taking a detour to allow himself the time to try using the abilities granted by the Pattern again. "Tripping myself up once is enough for today." He muttered to himself, with a small sardonic grin.

A few minutes later he was stood outside his apartment, his mood somber again after the brief distraction of the walk home. As he opened the door, the cat made itself known again by dashing through into the apartment ahead of him. "What the..?" He exclaimed in surprise as he followed the cat into the living room. "Where the hell did you come from?" He asked.

The cat meowed, looked at him as if he was stupid and then leaped up onto the sofa, stretched out and started purring lightly.

"You can't stay." Xander said, sternly.

The cat cracked one green eye open in disdain and then went back to ignoring him.

Xander rolled his eyes and went back to close the front door. "I'll deal with you later." He called back. The cat continued to ignore him.

Returning to the living room, a slightly exasperated Xander sat down on the sofa, next to the smug feline. He looked at the two envelopes in slight trepidation. He didn't really want to open them. An irrational part of him felt that reading the Will would make it all very official. He didn't want her death to be official. He didn't want her to be dead at all.

The envelopes blurred in his hand as he teared up slightly, then vanished all together as they were obscured by a furry black blur that then curled up in his lap and began to purr softly.

Xander blinked his eyes clear and scratched the cat lightly behind the ear with his free hand, increasing the volume of the purring. "Ok." He said, quietly. "Maybe you can stay for a little while."

Green eyes looked up at him as if he had just made the most obvious statement in the world, then closed again as the cat went back to enjoying the attention it was being given.

Xander inexplicably felt a little better with the purring animal settled on his lap. Steeling himself, he stopped petting the cat, which elicited a small disgruntled sound from the animal and carefully tore open the envelope containing the Will. He pulled out the document and started to read, absently petting the cat as he did so.

* * *

AN: Well. There you go. The story isn't dead after all. Here's hoping the time before the next update will be best measured in weeks or months rather than years!


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